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Overview

Details

Property

house

Sleeps

8

Bedrooms

3

Bathrooms

2

Minimum Stay

3 - 4 nights

Description

Twin Lakes House Rental Photos and Description

3 bedroom, 2 bath Home sleeps 8 (with 2 in Den on Sleeper Sofa)

Located just a few miles south of Leadville and close to Twin Lakes and the Historic Hayden Ranch, THE WILLOWS has a peaceful setting while giving easy access to Highway 24 for quick trips to mountain trails, ski resorts, or simply Colorado sight-seeing. Backing to BLM open space, the cabin has HUGE, unobstructed views of Mt. Elbert (Colorado's Highest Peak) and the Mt. Massive, as well as other peaks in the Sawatch range. This is a fisherman's paradise with only a few minutes walk to the Arkansas River and its "Gold Medal Waters" and a short drive to multiple fishing lakes.

The rustic external appearance of the cabin is deceiving. The open ranch style floor plan of this ~1,800 sq. ft. three bedroom, two bath home away from home has been updated with all the modern conveniences while keeping a true Colorado mountain cabin feel. The reclaimed barn wood floors, massive timber architectural features, rustic furniture and resort cabin decorating all will add to your authentic Colorado vacation experience.

For extended stays (once you visit for a weekend, you may want to spend month or more…), guests can leverage the full size washer and dryer to ensure they never run out of fresh clothes.

Colorado 14ers are all around you; Mt. Elbert is the highest in Colorado at 14,433' and sits directly outside the back door, with trailheads within minutes drive. A short distance up highway 82 toward Aspen is the trailhead to LaPlata Peak. Hiking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, mountain biking, and snow-mobiling on the multitude of trails in Lake County are among the leading outdoor activities in central Colorado. (There are some very good maps showing all the area trailheads, hiking & ATV trails at the shops in Leadville.) The Colorado Trail (segment #11) passes nearby at Twin Lakes, just 10 minutes' drive from The Willows, as does the Continental Divide Trail; there are many trailhead and spurs to pick from with fun forays into the wilderness in many directions. A great, family friendly hike starts at the Colorado Trail trailhead at Twin Lakes and follows the south banks for ~2.5 miles out to the historic Interlaken resort where visitors can explore this amazing site from the late 1800s.

Fishing outstanding in our surrounding lakes and rivers including ForeBay lake, Twin Lakes, Turquoise Lake, and the Arkansas River just across the road. The stretch of the Upper Arkansas River flowing just to the east of The Willows was just designated "Gold Medal Waters," and is now recognized as some of the best and most productive trout habitat in the state. These waters provide great boating opportunities as well, from relaxing lake kayaking and canoeing to more extreme white water rafting. Several rafting companies headquarter out of Buena Vista and are happy to book you for rafting adventures.

ATV trails are plentiful and Lake County has a local ordinance allowing the use of ATVs/UTVs on all county roads (Paved or dirt).

Several ski resorts are located within an hour and a half; Monarch Mountain, Ski Cooper (Family Friendly - just about 20 minutes NW of Leadville), Copper Mountain, Beaver Creek, Vail, Keystone, Breckenridge.

Taylor Park, west of Buena Vista, is one of the most beautiful locations in the world; simply cross Cottonwood Pass (in the summer) and enjoy the scenery.

Aspen is located 34 miles west on Highway 82 across Independence Pass and offers some of the premier aspen viewing in the state during the fall months as the trees transform into groves of golden fire. (Independence pass is generally closed in winter due to snowpack and travel restrictions).

4-Wheel Drive trails are abundant and the trip through Mosquito Pass is unrivalled; Weston Pass offers breathtaking scenery and a little less fear...travel both with caution!

Salida offers a wide variety of outdoor activities and even has a zip line course for the daring! There is also now a new public zip-line north of Leadville just before you climb the hill to the Climax mine.

About Brad, Beth

We live in Denver and are blessed to often be able to enjoy this beautiful place. You will be also.

Why Brad, Beth chose South Central

Summer or Winter, this is a place you can escape, rejuvenate, and be in awe of the wonder of God's creation. The views are incredible, both of the mountains in the day and stars at night. Enjoy!

What makes this house unique

Shopping in Leadville, Skiing in Ski Cooper, fly-fishing on the Arkansas, fishing on Twin Lakes, exploring the many historic ghost towns up the many ravines off Highway 24, hiking up Mount Elbert, a quick drive over to Aspen (in the Summer months), or a Fall-Colors Tour. All are quickly accessible from this private cabin that backs to BLM (Bureau of Land Managment) property.

Some links to some activities in the Leadville area:

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Reviews

Wonderful!4.8/5 -

(15 traveler reviews)

Excellent

We used "The Willows" for the second year in a row as our base for the LT 100. Of course we were out running much of the time but it is a very tranquil place to relax. And what a great view. My 3 sons were there, playing catch in the back yard while organizing for the run. Then, once completed, we were able to chill, eat and recover. Not much else to say, it is great.

Outstanding view From back of house and deck but significant management oroblems

The house was large and spacious with two living rooms and large dining room/table and kitchen.

Just sitting outside on the porch was special.

Unfortunately, we have an issue with the manager/owner Brad Grant.

Upon arriving at the house we could smell a strong smell in the two front bedrooms, which smelled like insecticide to me and my husband. I called the owner, Brad Grant wanting to know if it was paint or insecticide.

He admitted that the two front bedrooms had been painted well before our arrival, mentioning Thurs/Friday and that they had been properly aired out.

When I confronted him that we had arrived on Sat and the rooms had not been properly aired, vented before our arrival, he then backtracked and said they were painted 3days before our arrival but gave no date.

Our two sons had to sleep on the couches in the living room until after three days of fanning the rooms 24 hours a day that they were suitable for occupation.

Noise from the road was an issue for the two bedrooms facing the road. Given the heat, they wanted to keep their bedroom window open.

There was a small problem with our security deposit not being returned immediately. First Brad said he couldn't view the house for six days after our departure and would notify us when the deposit was returned. After 10 days, I reconnected him and he blamed VRBO for not returning our deposit automatically in 7 days.

Although we loved the house, I'd stay clear of this manager.

Submitted: Aug 15, 2016

Stayed: Jul 2016

Source: VRBO, from HomeAway

Owner's Response: For potential future (and returning) guests of The Willows, it may be relevant when putting this review in context to know that this guest called and/or emailed every day of her stay to complain about something, in addition to having already called or emailed me almost weekly in the time leading up to her stay, in part to complain about her 'problems' with VRBO. Additionally, she traveled cross-country with her own cookware (and then upon arriving, deemed ours “unsafe”), purged our own personal owners’ pantry without notification/approval and threw out all foods (including nonperishable items like cereal, peanut butter, unopened jars of spaghetti sauce, cans of soup, etc) that she arbitrarily felt should not have been there, and attributed headaches to our cabin, not able to acknowledge that coming from sea level to 10,000’ can and does frequently cause symptoms of altitude sickness, most often headaches. Because she independently chose to circumvent the VRBO payment system (it was one of her initial ‘problems’), the automatic refund option was not possible; timeliness of refund receipt has never been problematic for other guests who have utilized the VRBO system as designed. Painting of the front bedrooms was in fact completed in the week prior to this guest’s stay, however there was no noticeable residual odor by the time they arrived. The painting was done with highest quality, low-VOC, Ralph Lauren paint and the entire cabin was aired out for several days prior to their stay.
We work diligently and with heart and intention to ensure that our cabin, The Willows, is an inviting and pleasant get-away for both our own family and friends and for paying guests. While we are disappointed that this guest’s experience was not “5 star,” her opinion and perspective are clearly an anomaly based on feedback from the hundreds of other guests who have enjoyed The Willows over the years.

Willow lodge - the perfect holiday location

Becky and Brads lodge is an amazing place to stay. The facilities are perfect and the views are to die for. Brad has been really helpful over our stay answering queries and accepting a delivery. I would throughly recommend staying here and if we come back to Leadville again it will be my first choice.

This place is the definition of peace and relaxation

I rented this home over the 4th of July weekend as a getaway for my family of 4 and my mother and brother. We wanted to be away from the holiday crowds and we got just that. If you are after outdoor adventure, this is the place for you. It's right in the middle of two of the most beautiful (and challenging) 14,000 foot peaks in the Rockies, close to the great little town of Leadville and just across the road from the Arkansas River, which has great flyfishing. We drank our morning coffee on the deck with the mountains to stare at, hiked, biked, fished, built a fire every night in the back yard (with smores of course) and enjoyed the peace and quiet.

The only drawback was the bed in the master bedroom. We prefer a firm mattress and this one is super saggy in the middle. So, our sleep was a bit compromised.

Brad was great in responding to information requests and quick to return my deposit. I would highly recommend staying here!

A Room with a View

The Willows was the perfect base of operation for our three night Memorial Day getaway. Unlike properties nestled in the mountains, this property is located in meadow grazing land and surrounded 360 degrees by beautiful views of rivers, mountains and grass. You can see for miles in any direction and "openness" describes the feeling you get. The wide open vista made spotting mountain wildlife and game animals easy from the back porch.

I came to the Denver area for a very short time to visit my kids who live in the city of Denver but are avid outdoorsmen. The Willows is located across the road from one of the most picturesque trout rivers in Colorado. My sons and I were treated to landing some beautiful brown trout in the headwaters of the famed Arkansas River. It's central to Leadville, Buena Vista and a quick ride to Independance Pass (Route 82 "Continental Divide" between Twin Lakes and Aspen). This is the second time I've used VRBO for a vacation rental and both experiences were very good. Brad and Becky are wonderful hosts who have opened up their mountain home to renters who want to enjoy the outdoors or simply enjoy a beautiful day from the backyard of the cabin. We highly recommend this property and would certainly consider coming back again. We give "The Willows" the highest rating available. It's a great property!

Perfect cozy cabin for a family winter vacation

We loved this cabin for our wintery, snowy, vacation. the things I loved: very solid construction, very warm, no drafts. Heated with 2 gas fireplaces, 1 gas "wood burning" stove and electric heat in the 2 other bedrooms and the bathrooms. Mud room/foyer gave us room to strip off our snowy boots before placing them in front of the fire to dry. Easy to control temperature. Floors are long wooden beams that are smooth and feel solid and like I said, warm, no drafts. Fully equipped kitchen. I cooked nearly every night, Safeway in town was perfectly fine for finding food. (About 15 mins away.) kitchen had a crockpot so made meals during the day that were hot & ready when we arrived home from skiing. SkiCooper is an easy 30 min away.

Tons of board games in the living room. We played a 4-evening long game of monopoly with under the table high interest loans. There is a TV, actually 2. One in the living, one in master. My stepson (15) used it once. Not sure if there's cable or whatever. Didn't care to look. Nice collection of books on Colorado and outdoor adventures. The views!!!! The views from every window were spectacular. I opened the blinds everyday. Owner has a few signs up about being careful with things, but it's not overbearing at all. Tons of clean towels and a laundry room to wash clothes after cold yet sweaty days skiing. Gas fireplace in master was awesome. Very soft king in there. Queen in one room. 2 twins in another room. Everything was pretty clean. Feels very secluded. Awesome. Private. Lovely to not be in a hotel/resort. The whole place has a cohesive decor of antique skis, sleds, and all things ski related and Colorado-y. It's very neat and perfect for the environment.

Elk crossed the back area. We used the binoculars to get a better look. That was cool.

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